In this edition …
About 3,500 REALTORS® attended 2023 REALTOR® Day at the Texas Capitol. Â
Quick hits
- Watch Austin’s KVUE news report on REALTOR® Day at the Texas Capitol.
- View the recordings of the House and Senate Resolutions declaring March 22 REALTOR® Day at the Texas Capitol.
- Missed REALTOR Day? Click here to read the summary of the 2023 REALTOR® Day priority legislation.
REALTOR® Day by the numbers:
- 3,500 Texas REALTORS®
- 178 legislative meetings
- 1,700 plates of barbecue served
- 1,200 Texas REALTORS® walked through the open house
- 70 lunch tables
Texas REALTORS® Ride with the BrandÂ
Texas REALTORS® were joined by National Association of REALTORS® to Ride with the Brand and rally on behalf of private property rights and the real estate industry. The rally on the South steps of the Texas Capitol kicked off a day of advocacy. Members attended 178 legislative meetings at the on REALTOR® Day. On Tuesday, Texas REALTORS® also met with Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and Speaker of the House Dade Phelan for a grand total of 181 meetings to discuss policies affecting the real estate industry and private property rights.
Texas REALTORS® are passing the torch to Florida for the next stop on NAR’s Riding with the Brand tour.Â
Legislators declare March 22 REALTOR® Day
Yesterday, the House and Senate each passed a resolution declaring March 22, 2023 REALTOR® Day at the Texas Capitol. Up in the galleries of both chambers, REALTORS® dressed in purple cheered—and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was wearing even his Texas REALTORS® tie as he recognized the association.Â
Property tax legislation passes Senate floor on REALTOR® Day
REALTORS® were also present in the Senate Gallery when the legislators passed several bills to rein in property taxes out of the chamber. Those bills are:
SB 3 and SJR 3 (Bettencourt):Â Raise the residence homestead exemption from $40,000 to $70,000, and the additional over-65 exemption from $10,000 to $30,000.Â
SB 4 (Bettencourt):Â Provides an additional $5.38 Billion for school property tax rate compression.
SB 5 (Parker):Â Will provide for an increase in the business personal property exemption to $25,000 and a 20% inventory tax reduction.Â
This is a major step toward increasing housing affordability, and Texas REALTORS® are excited about the legislature’s opportunity to sustainably rein in property taxes. To move forward, the bills will need to be referred by the House Calendars Committee.Â
In the House, two priority bills received committee hearings on REALTOR® Day: Â
HB 14 (Harris):Â Authorizes certain third parties to conduct developmental permit reviews and inspections for regulatory authorities if the reviews or inspections are 15 days or more past due.
HB 19 (Murr):Â Creates a seven-judge business specialty court to handle corporate governance lawsuits and $10+ million business-to-business cases.
Thanks to lawmakers in both chambers for their work on our priority legislation on REALTOR® Day and throughout the session!
The association maintains a broad list of public policy priorities, but Texas REALTORS® prioritized six policy areas on REALTOR® Day: housing affordability, property taxes, infrastructure, transactions, economic development, and private property rights. You can read more about our REALTOR® Day priorities here. Or, click here to read the association’s full list of legislative priorities for the 88th session.